What is a patent?

A patent is an official set of exclusive rights given to someone or a company based on a new invention. It is about securing copyrights looking into the future.

In the UK, the government says inventors can use a patent to protect their invention. It gives them the right to take legal action against anyone who makes, uses, sells or imports it without their permission.

According to gov.uk, to be granted a patent, the invention must be something that can be made or used, must be new, and has to be inventive, meaning not just a simple modification to something that already exists.